New Products

Hi-res portable audio specialist Astell & Kern has introduced a modern-day equivalent to iconic Sony Walkman that started the personal music revolution way back in 1979.

The Activio P1 is the first product under a new lifestyle brand A&K created for music lovers serious enough to choose a dedicated music player over their phones to ensure audiophile-quality sound on the go. The player supports streaming, while providing onboard music storage, and is expected to available on amazon.com soon for $440, making it the lowest price personal audio player among the company’s three dozen models, which range in price from $699 to $4,999 with two-thirds priced above $1,500.

The P1 will compete with Sony’s current Walkman, the NW-A306 digital audio player, which sells for $350 and offers less internal storage.

Comparable in size and shape to a typical mobile phone, though a bit thicker, the Activio P1 has a large, 4.1-inch HD touchscreen with textured buttons on the sides for controlling playback and volume while on the go. Its Android user interface is preloaded with Google Play Store to make it easy to download popular streaming apps, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Qobuz, and Tidal.

The player supports wireless streaming over dual-band Wi-Fi and LDAC/aptX HD-enabled Bluetooth 5.3, and is Roon Ready for quick and easy integration with Roon subscription-based music-management software.

At the heart of the player is an ESS ES9219Q Sabre stereo digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that supports resolutions up to 32 bits/384 kHz, including DSD256, and a dedicated Teraton Alpha amp circuit designed to preserve nuance and clarity in music. The player also uses digital audio remaster (DAR) technology to enhance the sound of less-than-hi-res audio files; 44.1-kHz PCM files, for example, are up-converted to 352.9 kHz.

The player also boasts a feature audiophiles will love: a 20-band parametric equalizer for tweaking PCM sound (up to 24 bits/192 kHz) in ultra-fine 0.01 dB increments. Internal storage is limited to 64 GB but can be expanded up to 1.5 TB with the addition of a microSD card to accommodate large music libraries. The P1 can also function as an external USB DAC for a laptop or phone.

Battery life is rated for up to 20 hours and it takes about an hour-and-a-half to fully charge the P1. Connections include a standard 3.5mm minijack output plus a 4.4mm balanced output. For more information, visit activostyle.com.